The Rhetoric of Gender Terms: 'Man', 'Woman', and the Portrayal of Character in Latin Prose (Mnemosyne, Bibliotheca Classica Batava Supplementum)

The aim of this work is to recover classical Roman assumptions about women on the basis of the surviving linguistic data. The author provides a control to her study of the connotations of the major Latin words for women in the form of a corresponding examination of how Roman authors use the various words for men. The resulting analysis throws light not only on Roman gender vocabulary but also on Roman cultural perceptions of class, moral worth and nationality. Furthermore, the author's detailed discussions of strictly linguistic evidence enable her to offer several original and persuasive insights about the traditional Latin literary representation of women. Understanding the connotative range of gender terms such as "homo," "vir," "femina," "mulier" also reveals the value judgments made by ancient authors on male and female behaviour and can even be applied as a tool of historical analysis. The aim of this work is to recover classical Roman assumptions about women on the basis of the surviving linguistic data. The author provides a control to her study of the connotations of the major Latin words for women in the form of a corresponding examination of how Roman authors use the various words for men. The resulting analysis throws light not only on Roman gender vocabulary but also on Roman cultural perceptions of class, moral worth and nationality. Furthermore, the author's detailed discussions of strictly linguistic evidence enable her to offer several original and persuasive insights about the traditional Latin literary representation of women. Understanding the connotative range of gender terms such as homo, vir, femina, mulier also reveals the value judgments made by ancient authors on male and female behavior and can even be applied as a tool of historical analysis. The topic will be of interest to students of Latin philology, rhetoric, literature and Roman history THE RHETORIC OF GENDER TERMS 'MAN', 'WOMAN', AND THE PORTRAYAL OF CHARACTER IN LATIN PROSE 3 CONTENTS 7 Acknowledgments 9 Introduction 11 PART ONE THE CICERONIAN TRADITION AND ROMAN HISTORIOGRAPHY 19 1. Cicero's masculine terminology and rhetorical convention 19 2. The obscene mulier and the not-heard femina: Cicero's feminine terminology and comic prototypes 39 3. Sallust: factional politics through the looking-glass 57 4. Ab Urbe Condita: when viri were VIRI 73 5. Livian ladies: cardboard characters in feminine attire 87 6. Velleius Paterculus: historicus patrioticus 110 7. Tacitus: the tradition and its breaking 130 PART TWO THE LETTER, THE BIOGRAPHY, AND THE NOVEL 157 8. C. Plinius Secundus: man of letters 157 9. Suetonius: Ciceronian shorthand 173 10. Petronius and Apuleius: the good; the bad; and the nequissimi 182 Conclusion 207 Bibliography 215 Index 219 SUPPLEMENTS TO MNEMOSYNE 227 By Francesca Santoro L'hoir. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [205]-208) And Index.